Retired MLPD chief detains suspect at CB Tech

MOSES LAKE — A former Moses Lake police chief on Wednesday detained a man who made threats to students at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, according to a statement from the Moses Lake Police Department.

Retired Police Chief Dave Ruffin, who teaches law enforcement at CB Tech, detained Leonel Balderas-Mondragon, 22, at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday after two students reported to staff they had been threatened in the school’s parking lot by a man with a gun, the MLPD statement said.

As CB Tech went into lockdown, Ruffin walked into the parking lot and detained Balderas-Mondragon until MLPD officers arrived, the statement said.

Officers determined that Balderas-Mondragon was at CB Tech to pick up a relative, the statement said, with Bladeras-Mondragon admitting to having a 9 mm pistol in his car. The car was impounded as officers waited for a warrant, the MLPD said, no one was injured in the incident and the lockdown was lifted shortly thereafter.

The statement added that Balderas-Mondragon was booked into the Grant County Jail for making threats, unlawful possession of a firearm on school grounds and unlawful display of a firearm.